Pascal Hodasava

Born and raised in the French village Moyeuvre-Grande in the Mosel province by a Polish mother and a Czech father, Pascal Hodasava has been used to an international atmosphere since his first childhood steps. He studied electronics in Grenoble and then completed his voluntary service in Senegal, installing solar cells and wind generators. After his return to France Pascal joined the fusion division at CEA in Grenoble and from 1986 he formed part of the TORE SUPRA team. In 2006 he then joined the still small ITER team in Cadarache. "We were about 20 people in those days. That was fun."

Over the years the focus of his work has moved from electronics towards IT-technology. At the ITER Joint Work Site in Cadarache the 47 year old now works for the Helpdesk, the primary contact point for all IT users. The means busy times these days.

But Pascal is not a computer addict. He is also an excellent photographer and he - believe it or not - makes his own pottery. But his true loves are nature and nature's wonders. For the last 30 years he has spent most of his spare time digging for fossils and minerals. Formerly, he was even Vice-President of the "Club Dauphinois des Mineraux et Fossiles de Grenoble" and since 1995 he is the President of the society "Club des Amateurs de Mineraux et Fossiles" in Pierrevert. "Fossils are fascinating. Imagine you hold an animal in your hand that lived thousands of years ago."